Audio Collaborative 2026: Event Insights, Networking & Trends

AUDIO COLLABORATIVE 2026

📌 WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER @ HAM YARD HOTEL, LONDON

The future of audio is coming to London in 2026, and we want you to be a part of it. Early bird tickets out now!

Expect big things from 2026.

Thought-provoking ideas. Inspiring speakers. Meaningful connections. And conversations that continue long after the event's close.

This year, we’re diving further into the forces reshaping the audio industry. Bringing together bold thinking and practical insight, our agenda pushes the boundaries of innovation and tackles the real challenges brands face.

Explore how to translate research excellence into powerful business models. Discover how AI is transforming audio accessibility. And understand the rise of ecosystem-led audio—and what it means for you.

The audio landscape is evolving fast. Be part of what’s next.

Are you ready to tune in?

Explore Themes

Introducing our event sponsor!

Join us as a speaker or sponsor

Share insights with an influential audience and showcase your brand as an audio leader.

The Venue

Past Event Highlights

Audio Industry in Numbers [Presentation Download]

Futuresource Consulting's flagship presentation, The Audio Industry in Numbers, is now available for free download! As seen at Audio Collaborative 2025, Head of Audio Guy Hammett provides a thorough assessment of the consumer audio market, based on Futuresource's latest data.

The Innovative Future of Hearing Health [Panel Download]

Dive into the future of hearing health with this Audio Collaborative 2025 free panel download. Chaired by Principal Analyst Rasika D'Souza and featuring panellists Blair Werp (Qualcomm), Alastair Moore (RNID), and Elfed Howells (Elevear), this session explores the transformative potential of hearing health technology and how it is impacting the audio landscape.

UnInterrupted Immersion: Audio in the Car [Panel Download]

Andy Dowell (Lenbrook Media Group), Ivan Dimkovic, (Cinemo), Marcos Simon (Audioscenic), Mike Grant (Warwick Acoustics), and Boris Löhe (Dolby) explore the connected future of automotive audio in this Audio Collaborative 2025 panel.

Key Reports

Futuresource Audio Tech Lifestyles Consumer Survey

Uncover the habits and behaviours of audio consumers with our flagship Audio Tech Lifestyles consumer survey. Consisting of three separate reports across audio and music, home audio, and headphones, with respondents from the US, UK, Germany, Japan and China.

Futuresource Consumer Home Audio Quarterly Tracker

Gain an unrivalled look at the worldwide home audio market with our Consumer Home Audio Quarterly Tracker. Quantifying the market in terms of value and volume, this tracker reviews products such as wireless speakers, soundbars, A/V receivers, Hi-Fi systems and smart speakers..

Futuresource Consumer Headphones Tracker

This headphones quarterly tracker report forms part of Futuresource Consulting’s regular global headphone market research program. It provides an update on the global headphone market size, headphone market growth, and market share of headphones companies.

Futuresource Luxury Audio Market

Keep your finger on the pulse of global developments in high-end audio equipment. Our Luxury Audio Market Outlook covers devices including loudspeakers, two-channel amplifiers, turntables, multichannel amps, receivers and sound processors, soundbars, headphones and wireless speakers.

Futuresource Consumer Headphones Market

Unlock insights on emerging trends in the global headphones market, with data and analysis across true wireless headphones (TWS) market, over-ear, sports headphones, open-ear headphones, spatial audio, ANC, voice assistants, and wireless technology.

Futuresource Audio Tech Lifestyles - Path to Purchase Consumer Survey

Discover each stage of the consumer's retail journey for headphones and soundbars with our Audio Tech Lifestyles - Path to Purchase Consumer Survey. Insights cover five key markets, including China, France, Germany, UK and the USA.

Futuresource Automotive Audio Market Report

This automotive audio market report provides in-depth analysis of the key trends shaping the sector. Exploring the future of mobility and its impact on automotive audio, as well as sizing the OEM and aftermarket opportunities, the report also quantifies the market for vehicle sales and connected cars, and the rise of in-car streaming services.

Futuresource Global Music Industry Market Outlook

Gain insights and analysis relating to the streaming music subscription market and competitive environment, in the context of the wider music market.

Latest Audio Downloads

Pricing Report - Headphones

Gain a focused analysis of retail pricing trends across key headphone brands in this unique report.

01 Apr 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | Convergence, Immersion, and LED Growth

Discover the trends and changes characterising professional and live audio, LED, IWB and projection for 2026. This Future Session is an excerpt from our ISE series.

18 Mar 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | AI, AV and the Future of Connected Technology

This Future Session is an excerpt from our ISE spotlight series, focusing on the blurring boundaries between AV, IT, software, networking, AI, and content creation.

18 Mar 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | Consumer Electronics Insights

This excerpt from our 'CES and Beyond' Future Session focuses on the wider trends unfolding across the consumer electronics landscape in 2026.

17 Mar 2026

Audio Collaborative 2025 | Decoding the Audio Consumer: New Consumer Perspectives

In this presentation from Audio Collaborative 2025, Elliott Ross, Director of Insights, delivers new perspectives into audio consumers, leveraging insights from Futuresource's Consumer Insights programme.

16 Mar 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | ISE 2026 & Beyond

The AV industry is changing tack, as technology moves away from silos into increasingly integrated ecosystems. In this latest Future Session, our leading analysts discuss these changes in light of the upcoming ISE 2026.

23 Jan 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | Futuresource highlights convergence, immersive experiences and LED growth ahead of ISE

With ISE 2026 approaching, gain key perspectives on how product innovation and AV technologies intersect across verticals, with a focus on Pro Audio.

23 Jan 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | Chris McIntyre-Brown (Futuresource) and Dan Goldstein (AVIXA) discuss ISE

Chris McIntyre-Brown, MD at Futuresource, is joined by Dan Goldstein, Chief Product Officer at AVIXA, to explore how ISE has evolved into a true representation of industry convergence, bringing together AV, IT, broadcast, content creation, and enterprise communications into a single ecosystem.

23 Jan 2026

Audio Collaborative 2025 | The Future of Immersive Audio with Mathias Johansson, HARMAN

Discover the boundless potential of immersive audio with leading expert Mathias Johansson, VP at HARMAN's Cognitive Systems Lab, and Futuresource's Head of Audio, Guy Hammett.

09 Jan 2026

Future Sessions 2026 | CES 2026 & Beyond

With the arrival of CES 2026, our leading CE analysts are offering an in-depth look at the trends and challenges set to shape the consumer electronics and entertainment landscape in the year ahead.

05 Jan 2026

Latest Audio Insights

Cinemo Announced as Platinum Sponsor for Futuresource Audio Collaborative 2026

Futuresource Consulting welcomes Cinemo as Platinum Sponsor for this year’s Audio Collaborative event, taking place at London’s Ham Yard Hotel on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The one-day summit will bring together the industry’s leading voices to explore the technologies, behaviours and business models shaping the future of sound.

02 Apr 2026

Futuresource Audio Collaborative Returns to London: Save the Date for the Industry’s Most Perceptive Conversations

Futuresource Consulting has confirmed that its flagship one-day event will return to London on Wednesday 11 November 2026, bringing together the industry’s leading voices at the Ham Yard Hotel for a day of insight, debate and high-value networking.

26 Mar 2026

Live Sound’s Split Personality: Boom at the Top, Squeeze in the Middle

If you track the headline numbers, the story for touring and rental looks straightforward. The global touring and rental loudspeaker market reached around $574 million in 2024, and is forecast to climb to about $760 million by 2029. Unit volumes rise from roughly 180,000 boxes to the high two-hundreds of thousands over the same period. On paper, live sound is the growth engine of professional loudspeakers.

10 Mar 2026

Audio

Networked Audio: The Backbone of the Immersive Installed Sound Boom

Walk into almost any new-build commercial or leisure venue today and one thing sits quietly behind the walls: the audio lives on the network. What started as a premium option for flagships has rapidly become the default design assumption. For consultants and architects, the question is no longer whether to specify networked audio, but how far to lean into it and how it will underpin the next wave of immersive experiences.

10 Mar 2026

Mass Market Audio Is Stalling. Here's Where Growth Lives.

Futuresource analysis reveals slowing mass-market audio demand, while premium home audio and headphones drive growth through innovation, design and AI-powered features.

17 Feb 2026

How smartphones are steering the future of in-car audio

In-car audio is changing fast. For decades, the experience was defined by radios and CD players. Today, the smartphone has taken control. Our latest bulletin, Automotive Perspectives, shows that more than half of drivers across major markets now rely on their phones as the primary source of audio. This shift creates a new demand, with drivers expecting their cars to deliver the same seamless audio experience they enjoy everywhere else.

17 Feb 2026

Who’s making noise? Global audio brand ranking from Futuresource

Futuresource Consulting is pleased to announce the release of its updated Audio Brand Leader Board for H1 2025, a comprehensive market reference designed to provide unparalleled insights into global audio brand performance. This bi-annual report delivers detailed analysis across headphones, true wireless, hi-fi systems, soundbars, wireless speakers, and A/V receivers, offering shipment volumes and retail value data for 2023, 2024, and the first half of 2025.

02 Feb 2026

Futuresource highlights convergence, immersive experiences and LED growth ahead of ISE

As the pro audio industry heads into NAMM 2026 and ISE 2026, professional headphones are emerging from a period of volatility into a more measured, opportunity-led phase. According to Futuresource Consulting’s newly released professional headphones report, the global market is stabilising after the pandemic boom, with growth now driven by specialisation, replacement cycles and a more professionalised creator base.

27 Jan 2026

Hearing health moves out of the clinic, as consumer tech redefines access and awareness

New findings from Futuresource Consulting’s Hearing Health Market Outlook report shows a global market being reshaped by consumer hearables, software-led features and inclusive connectivity standards. In 2026, hearing support is becoming part of daily listening, rather than a late-stage intervention.

25 Jan 2026

Professional loudspeakers scale up, as live events, venues and infrastructure push growth beyond $4 billion

As the pro audio industry begins 2026 and thoughts turn to ISE and NAMM, the professional loudspeaker market is moving beyond the recovery phase. That’s according to Futuresource Consulting’s newly released pro loudspeaker report, which estimates global market value of $3.3 billion for 2025. Moving forward, the research firm expects steady growth that will surpass $4 billion by 2029, and a future defined by long-term structural demand.

25 Jan 2026

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